He takes a measured breath, more controlled than he used to be, but I know that big-mouthed kid is still in there. “I told you how hard it was for me to have you leave all the time, and youchosenot to do anything about it, so it wasyouwho broke up with me, asshole.”
Before I can reply, he abruptly stands up and grabs his bag. “I’ll tell them to put the food on my tab.”
“Finn, sit down. We’re talki—”
Off he goes. I watch as he exits the restaurant and hurries away.
Damn him. Damn him for being right.
Chapter 5
Finn
I tell myself I’m not upset, but that doesn’t make it true. I exit the elevator at the Central Hub and walk toward my apartment. As I get closer, I see the light is off, which means Timothy likely isn’t there. I want to be angry at him for meddling in my business, but his intentions were good.
The more I think about it, the more I realize I shouldn’t have asked Caden to accompany me to High Hope. I need to learn how to leave him in my past, and embarking on such a journey with him is the wrong way to go about it.
I reach my building and enter the code to open the door. There’s another entrance nearby for those who live on the upper floors. I’m about to walk inside when I hear footsteps from behind. They weren’t there a second ago, or maybe I was too distracted to notice. Before I can turn, a large arm wraps around my torso. I start to shout for help, but a hand covers my mouth.
My mind instantly goes back to Derek and how he used to block my mouth when I made too much noise. I’m about to smash my head against my attacker when I hear, “Relax. It’s me.”
I breathe in relief, but my heart is still running wild.
Caden removes his hand. “Okay?”
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“You’re shaking. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
He lets go of me, then nudges me into my apartment. I turn around as he shuts the door behind him. “I didn’t mean to make you upset, and I don’t want you to think that I’m not taking responsibility for what happened. I am.”
I don’t know what to say, so I simply nod. Hearing him acknowledge his responsibility doesn’t make me feel better like I hoped it would.
“If you want me to leave, best say so now.”
I don’t know what I want, but I can’t bring myself to tell him to leave. Like I told him yesterday—I missed him. “You can stay.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, he sinks to his knees.
I cross my arms. “I don’t want to have sex.”
“Sucking your cock isn’t technically sex.”
“You’re not sucking my cock.”
“Now you’re just being cruel.”
“I’m sucking yours.”
He flashes a smile. “I won’t say no to—”
I hold up a finger. “And this.”
“Finn…”
“One finger.” It’s not nice of me to press, but I don’t usually get him in an apologetic mood, and he never agreed before. I’m allowed to be a jerk from time to time, and he deserves it.
